Sunday’s Manchester Derby will not only see the city rivals, Manchester United and Manchester City, come together for the first time this season, it’ll also see Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho face off once again.
The two adversaries’ fractious relationship was well publicised when they were both in charge of Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, however Guardiola considers himself and Mourinho to be more alike than many people would think.
Guardiola even went as far as describing the pair as “twins” in trophy hunting, telling reporters;
Definitely. In that we are twins. He wants to win trophies, I want to win trophies.
Antonio Conte as well and Jurgen [Klopp] and Mauricio [Pochettino].
We love to compete, we love to win games but believe me it’s not a special occasion when we beat Mourinho teams.
City will look to continue their unbeaten Premier League run this season when they play second place United. The Citizens currently hold an eight-point advantage over the Red Devils, placing some added importance on the latest derby clash for United as they seek to bridge the gap.
Mourinho has been criticised for the defensive tactics he has utilised against the Premier League’s top teams this season, but Guardiola says that he has no problem with the way Mourinho organises his side.
We’ve faced each other many times in big moments.
I know the way we see the game is different because it’s normal.
I never criticise my colleagues the way they play. Every manager plays the way they play.
At the end of the result, I will respect my colleague. He knows, I know, that we want to beat each other.
